Alzheimer’s patients tell their stories at conference

Cassady Jeremias

Heartfelt testimonials from people living with Alzheimer’s disease

drew tears from an audience of more than 400 at the Marriott Hotel on

Friday.

One middle-aged woman told how she had to stop working, as a

lawyer as she would find herself at the office from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.,

just to keep up the same workload as she had before.

Another man, talking about not being able to work anymore,

struggled for words, and his wife filled in the blanks.

Cordula Dick-Muehlke, executive director of Adult Day Services of

Orange County, moderated the panel discussion.

“The public does not have a good knowledge of Alzheimer’s,” she

said. “They picture them as people wandering off in a nursing home,

but here, we see that they are not much different than you and I.”

The speeches came at a conference Thursday and Friday organized by

the Alzheimer’s Assn. of Orange County and UC Irvine’s Institute for

Brain Aging.

“We started it to show people in the community what research was

being done on Alzheimer’s and to highlight UCI’s accomplishments,”

said Carl Cotman, director of the Institute of Brain Aging and

Dementia.

“It opens up practical opportunities, like something as simple as

how to take a shower,” he said. “They get to hear other people’s

approaches and strategies.”

The audience was filled with researchers, psychologists and

caregivers. Among them was Violet Lazarescu, an administrator for

Sunflower Gardens, an assisted living facility specializing in

Alzheimer’s and dementia care.

“It was good hearing from the people who are actually living

through it every day,” she said. “We are caring for them, and we want

to learn more and do whatever we can.”

Other panels focused on treatments, pathology and prevention.

The Alzheimer’s Assn. and UCI said they hope to make it an annual

event.

Linda Scheck of the Alzheimer’s Assn. of Orange County stressed

the importance of acknowledging the disease.

“Today, there are three drugs and more in the pipelines to halt

and decline the disease,” she said. “What patients don’t realize is

that if you educate, you can walk that path a little longer and a

little healthier.”